


Set your beat

by stars_inthe_sky



Series: Romcoms [4]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: #BuckyNat Week, Ballroom Dancing, Dancing, F/M, Marvel 616/MCU Crossover, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Swing Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 16:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3575300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_inthe_sky/pseuds/stars_inthe_sky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>They swing out, twirling and kicking in perfect time but never quite letting go of one another.</i>
</p><p>(Prompt for #buckynat week)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Set your beat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [red_b_rackham](https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_b_rackham/gifts).



There’s swing music filtering throughout the apartment when Natasha enters, and she’s hardly closed the door and set her bag down before Bucky’s swept her into his arms, spinning them both around. Natasha laughs as she lets him lead her from a rock-step to a swing-out, followed by a tidy dip, and their shoes click against the hardwood floor like a metronome.

“You’re good at this, _milii moi_!”

“Did you expect anything less?”

“Of course not—I just didn’t know you could dance in the first place.”

He grins and pulls her back into a closed position, maximizing their contact as he continues to guide her through a lindy hop. “Sam signed me up for Pandora this morning; I couldn’t help myself once I found this station. I don’t think I’ve done this even once since before the war.”

“What, did you make Steve be the girl?” She follows his lead, adding a small kick for flourish.

“No,” Bucky chuckles. “His mom, actually. She taught both of us as soon as I hit puberty.”

“As soon as _you_ …?”

“Eh, no one knew if Steve’s voice was ever gonna drop. He was such a pipsqueak! But Mrs. Rogers, she was always the one who’d treat him like he was as big as he thought he was, you know? And she said we both needed to meet nice girls, and nice girls like nice boys who’re passable dancers. Steve had two left feet, and he’d start to get an asthma attack if you went on for too long…but I liked it.” He does a quick triple-step and spins Natasha out again.

She twirls neatly back to him. “So, does that make you a nice boy, then?”

“As much as it makes you a nice girl!” he laughs, and they exchange playful grins as they switch hands and twirl into and out of sweetheart position. “How about you? This isn’t quite Bolshoi material—when did you learn to swing dance?”

“I didn’t, actually,” Natasha admits, mirroring his Charleston step. “Why waste time teaching what you can brainwash?”

“Fair enough,” Bucky says, swinging her into another small dip. “You know, I think this was one of the first things they took from me. Dancing, I mean. Self-expression. Joy within structure. Kind of funny that they _wanted_ you to have it.”

“Funny’s one word for it. Sailor step?”

“Yes, ma’am.” They swing out, twirling and kicking in perfect time but never quite letting go of one another. When they’re face-to-face again, they fall back into a smooth basic step, each catching their breath as the song’s tempo slows.

Bucky gives her a peck on the nose, and Natasha laughs again. “So, what do you think it says about us, _lyubimyi_ —divergent lessons, and yet we’ve both ended up here, dancing together?”

“I think,” he says, dipping her at the music swells to a close and kissing her again, “it means we both found the right partner.”

**Author's Note:**

> " _Son of a bitch_ ," Peggy muttered. " _He stole my line_."
> 
> [the-sound-of-bells](http://the-sound-of-bells.tumblr.com) prompted: reminiscing about childhood
> 
> All dance terms and information are from Wikipedia, [Howcast videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsuE7gfH9_0), and [LindyHopMoves.com](http://lindyhopmoves.com/intermediate/).
> 
> Also posted [here](http://stars-inthe-sky.tumblr.com/post/114067777445/hi-thanks-for-the-prompt-yesterday-i-really) on Tumblr. Title from MS MR's "[Dark Doo Wop](https://play.google.com/music/preview/Te2ogixdci5vdyfx7lhnbsacvxm?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics&u=0#)."


End file.
